Just another day in the district

Working a block and a half from the Capitol has its advantages and disadvantages. Luckily enough, my building was not evacuated during today's scare. It seems that a plane was in the no-fly zone around the Capitol/White House area, and fighter jets fired warning shots to scare it off. I got to wondering what the contingency plan is if warning shots do not have their intended effect. how far away from our nation's symbolic center must a plane or any other foreign object be before fighter jets fire them down? A mile? Two? What kind of plan is in place to minimize collateral damage? We are, after all, in a city with many people, with many buildings, and many other important landmarks. A mile outside of the Capitol/White House in any direction does not ensure any type of safety for people on the ground or other buildings that may be unintended targets. ... Just a thought ...

Update: (2:50PM)
I guess others were wondering the same thing (NYT):

One tantalizing question is how close the Cessna might have come to being shot down. Mr. McClellan said there were "protocols in place" to fire at it, if necessary, "but I'm not sure it ever came to that point." Asked who had the authority to order that the plane be shot down, Mr. McClellan declined to be specific, except to say that President Bush was aware of the episode as it unfolded.

Pilots accidentally enter restricted airspace over Washington from time to time, generally without incident. But since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the prospect of an errant plane being shot down is not far-fetched. If, as Mr. McClellan said, the Cessna was within three miles of the White House today, it could easily have been within a minute or so's flying time of the mansion.